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Intuitive Sculpting w/ Anna Shipulina
99 Plays15 hours ago
In this episode of 'Shaping Your Pottery,' host Nic Torres interviews Anna Shipulina, a mother, immigrant, and artist. Anna shares her experience of how embracing freedom in her pottery practice has helped her grow as an artist. She discusses the importance of doing what you love to avoid burnout and the significance of intuitive building. Anna also talks about how her role as a mother and immigrant has influenced her art, the transition from wheel throwing to hand building, and her inspiration from nature and the human body. She offers practical advice for overcoming imposter syndrome, involving children in the creative process, and discovering one's unique voice in pottery. You can learn more about Anna by checking out her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annashipulina_ceramics/
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00:00 Introduction and Newsletter Invitation 01:05 Interview with Anna Shipulina Begins 02:05 Anna's Pottery Journey 03:50 Balancing Art and Life 07:29 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome 09:22 Exploring Handbuilding and Sculptures 12:19 Finding Inspiration in Nature and the Human Body 14:21 Embracing Imperfections in Pottery 17:31 Discovering Your Unique Voice 22:53 Final Thoughts and Advice 23:49 Conclusion and Newsletter Reminder
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Transcript
Introduction and Invitation
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey real quick before we get started, if you want to dive deeper into the techniques and the lessons I've learned from the potters I've interviewed, come join the Shaping Your Pottery newsletter to dive deeper and learn more about pottery. Go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash newsletter or click the link in the description. Are you putting too much pressure to make the perfect pot?
00:00:21
Speaker
In this episode, I gotta interview Ana Shippelina, and she talks all about how being free to create whatever she wants has helped her so much, and is also ah her being a mother and an immigrant has helped her with her growth as an artist as well.
00:00:38
Speaker
She talks about why she likes making sculptures and how switching from wheel throwing to hand building really helped her out. And there's so much more on this episode. She gives some excellent advice on helping you find your voice as well. Hope you guys enjoy this episode and I'll see you guys in there.
Ana Shippelina's Artistic Journey
00:00:53
Speaker
If you love pottery and want to take your skills to the next level, you're in the right place. Find your own pottery style right here on Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. Let's get started. Anna, welcome to Shape Your Pottery and share with me what is something in the pottery industry you believe everyone should be doing.
00:01:13
Speaker
Hi Nick, thanks for having me. It's my first ever podcast, so I'm excited. but I believe everyone should do just exactly what they like, what makes them excited, what makes them tick, you know, that that's the only way you can do things.
00:01:30
Speaker
Otherwise you will either lose interest or burnout. And pottery is an amazing medium for that because there is so much. I feel like I'm been doing it for three and a half years and I still didn't explore all the options and all the things I want to do. So you will never get bored, just do what really speaks to you.
00:01:54
Speaker
Absolutely agree. Shaping Nation, follow your interests in pottery and ply those into your pottery and that's how you're going to be making pottery for a lot longer and be enjoying what you make. Absolutely love that.
Pottery During COVID
00:02:05
Speaker
So tell me the story how you got started making pottery.
00:02:08
Speaker
I would say it happened accidentally. I never did anything related to crafts, to art, never considered myself as someone that can do something with their hands. And then the during the COVID, the lockdown, I started to a journey of rediscovering myself, you know, like I had disposed to look at my life and think that it's not the way I want it to be. So I started to look at the into things that I want to do because ah prior to that, I was a homeschooling mom, my parents, working with my husband, family business. So they had a chance to think, what do I really want to do? So then my friend started doing pottery and she was very excited and I thought, great, I will try that. So I signed up my son and me for beginner wheel throwing classes.
00:03:03
Speaker
And then it just happened. the The magic happened, you know, from the moment they touch the clay, you know, on the bedroom table. This is how they start in the beginner classes. And I just loved everything about, you know, they the that texture, the the weight of it, the how it feels in my hands. And then that I actually can do something, you know, like useful.
00:03:30
Speaker
It was amazing. So one month of classes flew by and then I took another month of classes and then I became a member. It's a membership based community studio where I started and that's it. I'm a member there since then. Absolutely love it. That was such a great story.
Motherhood and Immigrant Influence
00:03:50
Speaker
So you contribute growth as an artist to being a mother and an immigrant. Can you tell me more about this?
00:03:58
Speaker
Yes, being an artist is not only creating things, you know, you like have to do so many other things. You, you make your pieces, then you need to photograph it, then you need to decide how you're going to sell it. Then you need to communicate your message.
00:04:16
Speaker
Then like through through all of this, I opened my Etsy shop, I created my website, I started selling through local stores. It's like so many things that I never did before. And suddenly I realized that if I want to sell my work, I have to do that.
00:04:35
Speaker
So all of my ah prior experience as an immigrant where you have to be adaptive, where you have to face your fears, you know, like my English is not perfect. And I went ahead and created Instagram account and I started to talk in stories and write posts. And although it was very, you know, like imposter syndrome and all of that was very room for me, but I still did it. And I guess.
00:05:04
Speaker
As an immigrant, before that I already had this experience where I just have to like call the bank and ask them questions in notes, and then ask this question the same question over and over again, because I just don't understand what people are saying. And then being the parent, you have to be flexible. You you have to they time manage your time. and so many things that you have to do at once. So when I started in pottery, it was all very helpful for me. Now, what advice would you give to other mothers or other parents out there looking to do more in ceramics?
Pottery as Self-Care for Parents
00:05:42
Speaker
I would say always a great idea just to carve time for yourself as a like self-care, you know, if that's what you love to do. If pottery gives you the comfort, the the outlet for your creativity, just schedule the time for yourself and do it. But then if your child is around and just give them clay, let them play with clay, let them do things.
00:06:09
Speaker
that will give you time to do your things. And now when my son, this is what I did when my son was little, now he's older, he's 11 years old. And I ask for his advice, genuinely ask for his advice, you know, when we come to the studio and I'm like,
00:06:26
Speaker
What should I glaze this piece? And he always, because, you know, like, I know, for instance, like, oh, designers like white, you know, like matte white. So I always tend to do that, but he would give me all kinds of crazy ideas. And I did follow his advices and that people love that, that the funny part that it actually came out so great and I would never dare on my own to do it.
00:06:53
Speaker
Or I would ask, what does he think about the shape? He sometimes gave me some great ideas. How should I name the piece? So kids are, you know, they are naturally creative. They are open-minded and I just love to involve him and I give him the feedback that I get.
00:07:11
Speaker
on the pieces that he helped me with and that makes him excited and he creates
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
00:07:17
Speaker
his own things like actually I have it right here these little frogs which is very sweet yeah so involves the kids absolutely love that some excellent advice right there now earlier you mentioned that you had some imposter syndrome what are some things that you have done to help you get over imposter syndrome a little bit Yeah, post-mortem syndrome, I feel like it's always there, here you know, but you just kind of...
00:07:44
Speaker
You like calm it down a little bit and you know that it will always be there. And even people that you see going on a stage in front of a million people might still have it. You just don't know about that, but you you kind of find peace with it. You know that it's there. You're like, okay, I know that I'm afraid and I know that it will be always like that, but what are my choices?
00:08:11
Speaker
to stay afraid and never do and never, you know, like never try, never make mistakes, never learn from my mistakes and actually, and at some point advance versus, versus staying where you are and just, I'm afraid, you know, like and be, and be afraid and lose all these opportunities. So I just, I'm afraid, but I do it. That's, that's how you deal with it.
00:08:38
Speaker
I absolutely love that. Shaping Nation, you may be afraid to try some things. Maybe it's applying for a gallery or doing me something in that matter. But if you get over the afraid and you just do it anyways, that's how imposter syndrome starts to dwindle away a little bit. I absolutely love that. Yes, like small steps. it If it feels like so big, it's so scary, you divide it into small steps.
00:09:00
Speaker
And then you like do one small step at a time and then you're like, okay, it wasn't so bad. Oh, people actually liked that. You know, I got a good reaction. I got a good feedback. I can do more. And then you do more and more and more until you get to like your, your idea, your big idea. Absolutely agree. That was some excellent advice right there.
Transition from Wheel Throwing to Hand Building
00:09:22
Speaker
So now let's talk about your pottery. Can you tell me the story how you started making the sculptures that you make today?
00:09:29
Speaker
Yes, the sculpture. So I started as Manny Porter starts on the wheel doing plates and cups and then it got boring very fast for me. So I moved to vases on the wheel because vases gave me like more flexibility as far as the shapes.
00:09:48
Speaker
for instance, so I did explore that for some time. And since I was completely new in pottery, knew nothing about it, I didn't even know that there is hand building part of pottery. And then, as I said, I work in a community studio and I saw other members doing things differently. So I started research hand building, started trying it on my own, realized that it gives you much more flexibility as far as the size.
00:10:19
Speaker
and the shape and this is what I liked. I like all kind of thick. reform organic shapes. And I figured that that's what I can achieve by doing hand building. But really hand building opened up for me when I went to college classes and I had a great professor there and took a college classes. And she showed me all kinds of possibilities of hand building. And then I started slowly making more sculptural work then than before.
00:10:55
Speaker
So basically through hand building I came into sculptures. What were you feeling when you made the switch from wheel throwing to more hand built stuff? I felt relieved, honestly, because do throw I was doing things. I'm still using the plates at home that I made on the wheel before, but it was a struggle. I would say for me, it wasn't easy. and Not like in the movie, you see someone throwing on the wheel, there'd be nice music and person was sitting there relaxed. For me, it was like, no, no.
00:11:28
Speaker
It was like and always struggle. It's either I'm not centered or too thick at the bottom. like I was never satisfied basically with the result, but with hand building it felt easy. It was like I'm in the flow, you know?
00:11:46
Speaker
and I can like lose myself and do things and then like like I look, I take a step back and I look at what I made and I'm like, wow, i'm I like that, you know? So I never had this with wheel throwing. So it felt natural to me, easy, enjoyable. That's it. And I went with that.
00:12:07
Speaker
I absolutely
Inspiration from Nature and Imperfections
00:12:08
Speaker
love that. Shaping Nation, you don't have to be stuck doing just one thing. Sometimes you maybe feel like you're missing something. Try changing things up and that thing might come from you changing things up. I absolutely love that. So you are inspired by nature and the human body. Tell me more about this and how this impacts the way you make your own sculptures.
00:12:27
Speaker
I tend to nature for when I need to recharge for inspiration. We have beautiful nature here in Los Angeles, beautiful canyons, national parks. So I go hiking by myself. It's one of the greatest things I do as a self care. And I just.
00:12:48
Speaker
I just love observing nature. And when I look at what's around me, it's like nothing is perfect, but it's actually so harmonious and so balanced. And this is how I feel what I want to translate into my work. that I don't want to make pieces that look like something that you can buy in Target, let's say.
00:13:15
Speaker
you know i want I want people to real to see right away that someone made it by hands. So that's what that's what how I see nature translates with my work. Plus, that as a female, I had so many yeah yeah and no difficult relationships with my body, with accepting my body and not trying to fit into the standards of what's out there. and e I want to celebrate the differences you know in in women's bodies in particular because women go through so much when they
00:13:53
Speaker
getting pregnant after birth, different stages of life. And it's not an easy path for women, I would say. And in my pieces, I want to show the imperfections and that it can be all kinds of shapes and forms. And there is beauty and uniqueness in every single piece. So this is how I see it all connects for me. Tell me more about these imperfections in your pieces.
00:14:21
Speaker
First of all, I'm an intuitive builder. i I have a general idea of what I want to make, but it's not. I don't have like sketches, for instance, and like I know that people sometimes do even like outline on the cardboard and then like measure if the piece goes exactly the way that you outlined it. I never do that.
00:14:44
Speaker
So it's more of an intuitive process. I i have a general idea. I start building and then I just ah go with the flow and i I build and I see how it looks. If I like it, I continue. If I don't like it, I reshape it. So what was the original question? I feel like my store took me. ah Yeah, I'm sorry. It was just, tell me about the imperfections in your work.
00:15:10
Speaker
Oh, imperfections. Yes. So just the form on itself is not perfectly shaped. It's not symmetrical. aid It's a free form, you know. So as I said, as an intuitive builder, I just go with the flow and if I like it, I keep it. If I don't like it, I redo it.
00:15:31
Speaker
So for me, my pieces are never perfect because they are just not uniform. For instance, if you ask me to do exactly the same shape again, I will never be able to do that because it's a, you know, like it's a process, it's a flow.
00:15:47
Speaker
so and then during the firing process my pieces get some kind of different colors for instance you know in the beginning I was very getting very upset about that because if the clay is white I want it to be white.
00:16:02
Speaker
But if something stands next to my piece in the kiln, it gives us like a a red flare, for instance, like orange flare. And now I see these imperfections as absolutely beautiful and unique aspects of my work. You know, so it's from the fire in the kiln to the way I make the pieces. Nothing is perfect about them. And that's what I like about this.
Intuitive Approach to Sculpture
00:16:31
Speaker
Absolutely love that shaping nation your pieces don't have to be perfect and it's okay if that you mess up a little bit You could use those imperfections to your advantage to make even more beautiful pottery. Absolutely love that So now what advice would you give to someone looking to elevate their own sculptures?
00:16:48
Speaker
I would say doing exactly what I described, doing it intuitively instead of chasing after the final result as you pictured it or as you outlined it on the paper. Just give yourself freedom. Even if you decide not to fire this piece at the end, just try, you know, just try to be in the process. Enjoy the process and don't focus on the result.
00:17:18
Speaker
And many times you will be surprised at what you're capable of doing when you just trust. Absolutely. Excellent advice right there.
Finding Her Unique Style
00:17:29
Speaker
So let's talk about discovering your voice. Can you tell me about the moment when you knew you were heading in the right direction with your potter?
00:17:37
Speaker
That's an interesting question about the voice. I can't tell you like 100% that I feel that I have my own voice right now. I still feel like I'm a student, you know, and there are so many things and I'm like, I'm going to trial. So this, and I have this idea that I want to experiment with.
00:17:57
Speaker
But I guess that when people started to come to me in the studio and tell me, oh, when I see your piece on the shelf, I know it's you. ah you know And we had like, I don't know, maybe 400 members. So you can imagine the volume of work in the studio. And I'm like, wow, that's interesting that people started to recognize my pieces and associate them with me.
00:18:23
Speaker
before i I did it. And then I think also I became more satisfied with my work, recently more satisfied. I like what I what i get more open than not in comparison to the past. And I guess this is how I would say that I'm probably hitting this, my voice, you know, when I i love what I do.
00:18:48
Speaker
Absolutely great. What would you say was your biggest obstacle when it came to finding or when it's coming to find your own voice? I don't think there were obstacles, honestly. I was so eager and so excited to do pottery. you know I never did anything with my hands. And I was i remember this show at the beginning when I started making pieces, when people tell me, I actually like it. Do you sell it? Can I buy it? I was like, what? Really? You want to buy this? you know It was a complete shock for me.
00:19:24
Speaker
So I felt enormous encouragement. I just wanted to do more and more and more. I was working all possible three hours that I had. And I don't feel like there were any obstacles, you know, I was just experimenting, trying things.
00:19:45
Speaker
And i I decided from the beginning that I'm not going to, oh, people reacted to this, to like something really well. I'm going to force myself and from now on we'll do only that. I i decided that no, I'm not, I'm not going to do that. I will do only what speaks to me.
00:20:04
Speaker
Only what I enjoy and even if it's I did a series of work that was very successful But I don't want to go back to it. I want so I guess
Experimentation and Growth
00:20:15
Speaker
they were not really obstacles It was it was amazing journey and continues to be an amazing journey Absolutely loved that so outside of being a mother and an immigrant you also contribute growths and artists to curiosity Can you tell me more about this?
00:20:32
Speaker
Yes, so that's a little bit what I touched on the previous question that when I felt the this empowerment that I can do things and people like my things. I just wanted to experiment with so many things. If you look back at my, let's say Instagram, you would see that I was doing underglazes and then I was trying to create different patterns with tape. And then I got into carving and I was like, every piece was carved.
00:21:06
Speaker
And then I was doing different textures and different colors. I was like all over the place, you know, and I guess that it's this feeling. I felt its like a child, you know, honestly, like when.
00:21:22
Speaker
when I had like these playgrounds of things and there are so many things and I could try everything and try everything and I just webbed for it. So I guess that's this curiosity, this thirsty and all because for so many years I was not doing what I really loved but I was doing it because I had to do it.
00:21:45
Speaker
like working at the office or then taking care of my child. There is a lot of things that you have to do, even though maybe you would choose to do something else. you know So here I felt the freedom of doing whatever I want. So that's where the curiosity came in and I just when went for it and experimented until I found what I like.
00:22:11
Speaker
absolutely love that shape nation the more curious you are about pottery or by your art the better off you're going to be growing as an artist because you're so curious about everything everything becomes more exciting absolutely love that so now what advice would you give to someone that is looking to discover their own unique voice with their pottery I would say just do different things. Try different things. See what's out there. See what way you interest in and just go deep into that. Only by experimenting in trying, you will be able to find what's really yours. Absolutely, Gris. Some excellent advice right there. Ana, it's been great chatting today and as we come to a close here, what is one thing you want to hammer with my listeners today?
00:22:59
Speaker
I would say listen to yourself, trust yourself. Intuitive building is amazing. I really encourage everyone to try that no matter what kind of pottery, style of pottery you do, hand building, wheel throwing. Just try, let go of your head and and enjoy the process.
00:23:23
Speaker
Excellent party words of advice. Couldn't agree more. Ana, it's been great chat
Invitation to Connect
00:23:28
Speaker
today. Where can my listeners go and learn more about you? I have Instagram at AnaShapulina underscore ceramics and my website at AnaShapulina.com. ah You're welcome. Would love to see you there. Share some pottery love with you and thank you Nick for having me. Of course. Hey, thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping a Pottery with Nick Torres.
00:23:53
Speaker
If you want to master the art of pottery and dive deeper into the techniques of the potters I interview, I created a newsletter that does just that. It dives deep into the techniques of the potters I interview. If you want to learn more, go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash newsletter or click the link in the description to learn more.